Data recovery operations, such as recovery from modified network data management protocol data

ABSTRACT

The systems and methods herein permit storage systems to correctly perform data recovery, such as direct access recovery, of Network Data Management Protocol (“NDMP”) backup data that was modified prior to being stored in secondary storage media, such as tape. The systems and methods permit NDMP backup data to be encrypted, compressed, deduplicated, and/or otherwise modified prior to storage. The systems and methods herein also permit a user to perform a precautionary snapshot of the current state of data (e.g., primary data) prior to reverting data to a previous state using point-in-time data.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/419,272, filed Jan. 30, 2017, entitled DATA RECOVERY OPERATIONS, SUCHAS RECOVERY FROM MODIFIED NETWORK DATA MANAGEMENT PROTOCOL DATA, whichis a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/005,209, filedJan. 25, 2016, entitled DATA RECOVERY OPERATIONS, SUCH AS RECOVERY FROMMODIFIED NETWORK DATA MANAGEMENT PROTOCOL DATA, now U.S. Pat. No.9,557,929, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/241,625, filed Sep. 23, 2011, entitled DATA RECOVERY OPERATIONS, SUCHAS RECOVERY FROM MODIFIED NETWORK DATA MANAGEMENT PROTOCOL DATA, nowU.S. Pat. No. 9,244,779, which claims the benefit of U.S. PatentApplication No. 61/388,554, filed Sep. 30, 2010, entitled DATA RECOVERYOPERATIONS, SUCH AS RECOVERY FROM MODIFIED NETWORK DATA MANAGEMENTPROTOCOL DATA, each of which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Current storage management systems employ a number of different methodsto perform storage operations on electronic data. For example, data canbe stored in primary storage as a primary copy that includes productiondata, or in secondary storage as various types of secondary copiesincluding, as a backup copy, a snapshot copy, a hierarchical storagemanagement copy (“HSM”), as an archive copy, and as other types ofcopies.

A primary copy of data is generally a production copy or other “live”version of the data that is used by a software application and isgenerally in the native format of that application. Primary copy datamay be maintained in a local memory or other high-speed storage devicethat allows for relatively fast data access. Primary copy data istypically intended for short term retention (e.g., several hours ordays) before some or all of the data is stored as one or more secondarycopies, for example to prevent loss of data in the event a problemoccurred with the data stored in primary storage.

Secondary copies include point-in-time data and are typically intendedfor long-term retention (e.g., weeks, months or years depending onretention criteria), before some or all of the data is moved to otherstorage or is discarded. Secondary copies may be indexed so users canlater browse, search and restore the data. After primary copy data isbacked up, a pointer or other location indicia such as a stub may beplaced in the primary copy to indicate the current location of thatdata. Further details may be found in the assignee's U.S. Pat. No.7,107,298, filed Sep. 30, 2002, entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ARCHIVINGOBJECTS IN AN INFORMATION STORE.

One type of secondary copy is a backup copy. A backup copy is generallya point-in-time copy of the primary copy data stored in a backup formatas opposed to in native application format. For example, a backup copymay be stored in a backup format that is optimized for compression andefficient long-term storage. Backup copies generally have relativelylong retention periods and may be stored on media with slower retrievaltimes than other types of secondary copies and media (e.g., on magnetictape), or be stored at on offsite location.

Another form of secondary copy is a snapshot copy. From an end-userviewpoint, a snapshot may be thought as a bitmap or instant image of theprimary copy data at a given point in time. A snapshot may capture thedirectory structure of a primary copy volume at a particular moment intime, and may also preserve file attributes and contents. In someembodiments, a snapshot may exist as a virtual file system, parallel tothe actual file system. Users may gain a read-only access to the recordof files and directories of the snapshot. By electing to restore primarycopy data from a snapshot taken at a given point in time (e.g., via areversion process), users may also return the current file system to theprior state of the file system that existed when the snapshot was taken.

A snapshot may be created instantly, using a minimum of file space, butmay still function as a conventional file system backup. A snapshot maynot actually create another physical copy of all the data, but maysimply create pointers that map files and directories to specific diskblocks and that indicate which blocks have changed. The snapshot may bea copy of a set of files and/or directories as they were at a particularpoint in the past. That is, the snapshot is an image, or representation,of a volume of data at a point in time. A snapshot may be as a secondarycopy of a primary volume of data, such as data in a file system, anExchange server, a SQL database, an Oracle database, and so on. Thesnapshot may be an image of files, folders, directories, and other dataobjects within a volume, or an image of the blocks of the volume.

Snapshots may be created using various techniques, such ascopy-on-write, redirect-on-write, split mirror, copy-on-write withbackground copy, log structure file architecture techniques, continuousdata protection techniques, and/or other techniques. Once a snapshot hasbeen taken, subsequent changes to the file system typically do notoverwrite the blocks in use at the time of a snapshot. Therefore, theinitial snapshot may use only a small amount of disk space to record amapping or other data structure representing or otherwise tracking theblocks that correspond to the current state of the file system.Additional disk space is usually only required when files anddirectories are actually modified later. Furthermore, when files aremodified, typically only the pointers which map to blocks are copiedwhen taking a new snapshot, not the blocks themselves. For example inthe case of copy-on-write snapshots, when a block changes in primarystorage, the block is copied to secondary storage before the block isoverwritten in primary storage and the snapshot mapping of file systemdata is updated to reflect the changed block(s) at that particular pointin time, e.g., the pointer in that snapshot now points to the old blocknow in secondary storage.

Data storage systems may utilize snapshots for a variety of reasons. Onetypical use of snapshots is to copy a volume of data without disablingaccess to the volume for a long period. After performing the snapshot,the data storage system can then copy the data set by leveraging thesnapshot of the data set. As another example, a data storage system mayuse a snapshot and/or other point-in-time secondary copies (e.g., copiesgenerated from a snapshot) to permit a user to revert data back to itsstate at a specific point in time during a reversion process.

An HSM copy is generally a copy of the primary copy data, but whichtypically includes only a subset of the primary copy data that meets acertain criteria and is usually stored in a format other than the nativeapplication format. For example, an HSM copy might include only thatdata from the primary copy that is larger than a given size threshold orolder than a given age threshold and that is stored in a backup format.Often, HSM data is removed from the primary copy, and an address,pointer or stub is stored in the primary copy to indicate its newlocation. When a user requests access to the HSM data that has beenremoved or migrated, systems use the stub to locate the data and oftenmake recovery of the data appear transparent even though the HSM datamay be stored at a location different from the remaining primary copydata.

An archive copy is generally similar to an HSM copy, however the datasatisfying criteria for removal from the primary copy is generallycompletely removed with no stub left in the primary copy to indicate thenew location (i.e., where it has been moved to). Archive copies of dataare generally stored in a backup format or other non-native applicationformat. In addition, archive copies are generally retained for very longperiods of time (e.g., years) and in some cases are never deleted. Sucharchive copies may be made and kept for extended periods in order tomeet compliance regulations or for other permanent storage applications.

Application data over its lifetime typically moves from more expensivequick access storage to less expensive slower access storage. Thisprocess of moving data through these various tiers of storage issometimes referred to as information lifecycle management (“ILM”). Thisis the process by which data is “aged” from more expensive forms ofsecondary storage with faster access/restore times down through lessexpensive secondary storage with slower access/restore times, forexample, as the data becomes less important or mission critical.

In some embodiments, storage management systems may perform additionaloperations upon copies, including deduplication, content indexing, dataclassification, data mining or searching, electronic discovery(E-discovery) management, collaborative searching, encryption andcompression.

One example of a system that performs storage operations on electronicdata that produce such copies is the Simpana storage management systemby CommVault Systems of Oceanport, N.J. The Simpana system leverages amodular storage management architecture that may include, among otherthings, storage manager components, client or data agent components, andmedia agent components as further described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,246,207,filed Apr. 5, 2004, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DYNAMICALLYPERFORMING STORAGE OPERATIONS IN A COMPUTER NETWORK.” The Simpana systemalso may be hierarchically configured into backup cells to store andretrieve backup copies of electronic data as further described in U.S.Pat. No. 7,395,282, filed Jul. 15, 1999, entitled “HIERARCHICAL BACKUPAND RETRIEVAL SYSTEM.”

The Simpana system and other storage systems may perform backup andDirect Access Recovery (“DAR”) storage operations under the Network DataManagement Protocol (“NDMP”), an open standard protocol for backups ofheterogeneous network-attached storage across an enterprise. Under theNDMP standard, during backup, an NDMP data server is responsible forcreating backup data and sending it to an NDMP mover in a data streamformat specified by the NDMP protocol. To the NDMP mover, the datastream may appear to be simply a raw stream of bytes or bits. The NDMPmover is then responsible for writing the data stream to backup orsecondary storage media, such as tape. The NDMP mover may be on the samephysical machine as the data server, or different machine. During arestore or recovery of a backed-up data object, the NDMP data server isresponsible for requesting NDMP-formatted backup data from the mover andrestoring the data object to a target location from that backup data,e.g., a target location in primary storage. To request a backup copy ofa data object, the NDMP data server sends an offset and length thatidentify the location of the data object in the original NDMP datastream that was sent to the NDMP mover at backup. Using the offset andlength information provided by the NDMP data server, the NDMP moverretrieves the desired data from the backup media and returns it to theNDMP data server in the form of an NDMP-formatted data stream.

Unfortunately, NDMP standards do not readily facilitate restoreoperations if the NDMP mover modified the NDMP data stream viaencryption, compression, deduplication, etc., before writing the data totape or other secondary storage media. These modification techniques mayalter the data in an unpredictable way. For example, when an NDMP datastream is deduplicated and/or compressed, the total size of the modifieddata that must be stored is typically much smaller than the size of theoriginal NDMP data stream. However, the modified data is not simply alinearly “scaled down” version of the original data stream. Instead, theoriginal data stream is scaled down unevenly in a manner that depends onthe contents of the original data stream and/or the types ofmodification techniques that are applied to the original data stream.Since these modification techniques alter the data in an unpredictablemanner, at the time of restore, the NDMP mover can no longer use theoffset and length provided by the NDMP data server to correctly retrieveand return requested data objects. For example, if a data object wasoriginally represented in an original NDMP backup data stream at offsetOF1 and length L1, the modified version of that object may instead bestored in modified form with an offset OF2 and length L2; furthermore,there may be no closed-form mathematical relationship to automaticallyderive OF2 and L2 from OF1 and L1. Thus, if the data mover receives arequest from an NDMP data server to retrieve an object using offset andlength values OF1 and L1, the data mover may be unable to fulfill therequest.

The Simpana system and other storage systems may also permit users toperform a reversion operation in order to return client data to aprevious state at a specified point in time by using a previouslyobtained point-in-time copy, such as a snapshot copy or other secondarycopy. However, this reversion operation will effectively erase allchanges to that data that were made after the specified point in time.Thus, such a reversion operation is irreversible, since a user cannotundo the reversion operation in order to return data to its state at thetime the reversion operation was performed.

The need exists for systems and methods that overcome the aboveproblems, as well as systems and methods that provide additionalbenefits. Overall, the examples herein of some prior or related systemsand methods and their associated limitations are intended to beillustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of existing or priorsystems and methods will become apparent to those of skill in the artupon reading the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an environment in which aspectsof the invention may be configured to operate.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating components of a data stream thatmay be used in a suitable data storage system.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for performing an NDMPbackup operation, wherein the NDMP data stream is modified prior tostorage.

FIG. 4 is an example chunk mapping table that shows how a secondarystorage computing device may provide a mapping between physical andlogical locations of modified NDMP backup data.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for restoring NDMP datathat has been modified prior to storage.

FIG. 6 shows a process for reverting data to a previous state, whereinthe reversion process is reversible.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example graphical interface for permitting a userto perform a reversion operation from point-in-time data that isreversible.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a data storagesystem.

In the drawings, the same reference numbers and acronyms identifyelements or acts with the same or similar functionality for ease ofunderstanding and convenience.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The headings provided herein are for convenience only and do notnecessarily affect the scope or meaning of the claimed invention.

Overview

The systems and methods described herein permit storage systems tocorrectly perform direct access recovery of NDMP backup data that wasmodified prior to its storage in secondary storage media, such as tape.For example, as described in greater detail herein, the systems andmethods may permit NDMP backup data to be encrypted, compressed,deduplicated, and/or otherwise modified prior to storage. During adirect access recovery operation, the systems and methods describedherein permit an NDMP data server to use index information (such aslogical offsets and/or lengths) generated by the NDMP data server inorder to request an unmodified version of NDMP data that was previouslystored in modified form.

The systems and methods described herein also permit a user to perform aprecautionary snapshot of the current state of data (e.g., primary data)prior to reverting data to a previous state using point-in-time data. Inthis way, a reversion process becomes reversible, instead ofirreversible, because data that would otherwise be erased or overwrittenby a reversion process is first captured via a snapshot operation.

Various examples of the invention will now be described. The followingdescription provides specific details for a thorough understanding andenabling description of these examples. One skilled in the art willunderstand, however, that the system may be practiced without many ofthese details. Additionally, some well-known structures or functions maynot be shown or described in detail, so as to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring the relevant description of the various examples.

The terminology used in the description presented below is intended tobe interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it isbeing used in conjunction with a detailed description of certainspecific examples of the system. Certain terms may even be emphasizedbelow; however, any terminology intended to be interpreted in anyrestricted manner will be overtly and specifically defined as such inthis Detailed Description.

Suitable Environments

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an environment 100 in whichaspects of the invention may be configured to operate. The environment100 includes one or more clients 130, one or more primary data stores160, a secondary storage computing device 165 (or alternatively “mediaagent”), and one or more storage devices 115. Each of the clients 130 isa computing device, examples of which are described herein. The clients130 are each connected to one or more associated primary data stores 160and to the secondary storage computing device 165. The secondary storagecomputing device is connected to a storage device 115. The primary datastores and storage device may each be any type of storage suitable forstoring data, such as Directly-Attached Storage (DAS) such as harddisks, a Storage Area Network (SAN), e.g., a Fibre Channel SAN, an iSCSISAN or other type of SAN, Network-Attached Storage (NAS), a tapelibrary, or any other type of storage. The clients 130 and the secondarystorage computing device 165 typically include application software toperform desired operations and an operating system on which theapplication software runs. The clients 130 and the secondary storagecomputing device 165 typically also include a file system thatfacilitates and controls file access by the operating system andapplication software. The file system facilitates access to local andremote storage devices for file or data access and storage.

The clients 130, as part of their functioning, utilize data, whichincludes files, directories, metadata (e.g., access control lists(ACLs), descriptive metadata, and any creation/edit dates associatedwith the data), and other data objects, which may be stored in anassociated primary data store 160. (More details as to the storageoperations involving ACLs may be found in the assignee's U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/058,518, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR STORAGEOPERATION ACCESS SECURITY”, the entirety of which is incorporated byreference herein.)) The data of a client 130, which is stored in aprimary data store 160, is generally a primary copy (e.g., a productioncopy). Although described as a “client” of the secondary storagecomputing device 165, a client 130 may in fact be a production server,such as a file server or Exchange server, which provides live productiondata to multiple user workstations as part of its function. During acopy, backup, snapshot, archive or other storage operation, the clients130 send a copy of data objects in a primary data store 160 to thesecondary storage computing device 165.

Some clients 130, such as client 1 and client 2, may include an NDMPdata server 106 configured to permit the client to perform NDMP backupand direct access recovery (DAR) (or “restore”) storage operations, asdescribed in greater detail herein. Some clients, such as client 1 andclient N, may include a snapshot component 108 configured to permit theclient to perform snapshot operations, including taking snapshots andperforming data reversions from a snapshot or other point-in-time data,as described in greater detail herein. As shown in FIG. 1, a singleclient may comprise an NDMP data server 106, a snapshot component 108,and/or both. Of course, clients may also contain other components thatperform other functions.

The secondary storage computing device 165 may include variouscomponents that perform various functions. These components include anNDMP mover 170, a control module 168, a media daemon 172, a snapshotmodule 174, and an interface module 176. The NDMP mover permits thesecondary storage computing device to perform NDMP backup and directaccess recovery (DAR) storage operations, as described in greater detailherein. The NDMP mover is configured to communicate with the NDMP dataserver 106 during NDMP backup and restore operations. The control moduleis configured to control NDMP backup and restore operations, and themedia daemon is configured to store and retrieve a modified version ofan NDMP data stream in the storage device 115. The NDMP mover and/ormedia daemon are also configured to modify data received from the NDMPdata server via operations such as deduplication, encryption,modification, indexing, and/or the addition of metadata, before the datais stored in the storage device 115. The snapshot module 174 isconfigured to facilitate snapshot operations upon data (e.g., datastored in primary data stores 160), and to permit a client 130 to revertto earlier versions of data using snapshots or other point-in-time data.The interface module 176 is configured to present user interfaces thatpermit a user to initiate a reversion operation and select optionsassociated with that reversion. The functionality of each of thesecomponents is described in greater detail herein.

Together, the NDMP data server 106 on a client 130 and the NDMP mover170 on the secondary storage computing device 165 facilitate NDMP backupand restore operations of the primary data in the client's associatedprimary data store 160. Turning to an NDMP backup operation first,generally speaking, the control module 168 communicates with the NDMPdata server in order to configure and initiate an NDMP copy operation or“backup job” of a set of primary data from the primary data store (suchas a volume, sub-client, or file system). For example, the controlmodule may instruct the NDMP data server to package the set of primarydata into an NDMP backup data stream and to send the NDMP data stream toa specified data port on the secondary storage computing device. Theconfiguration of the backup operation, including which set of data isbacked up and other configuration parameters, may be specified by astorage policy and/or schedule policy, as described in greater detailherein. The control module may also cause the NDMP mover 170 to beginlistening for the incoming NDMP backup data stream on the specifiedport. In accordance with the control module's instructions and NDMPprotocols, the NDMP data server packages up the specified set of primarydata from the primary data store into an NDMP-formatted backup datastream and begins sending the data stream to the NDMP mover, whichreceives the data stream, e.g., at the specified port. The preciseformat of the NDMP data stream may be dependent upon the type of NDMPdata server that is sending the stream, so that effectively the NDMPmover cannot parse or discern a file-level or directory-levelorganization within the NDMP data stream. Instead, from the NDMP mover'sperspective, the NDMP data stream may be seen simply as an orderedcollection, or stream, of raw bytes or bits that needs to be stored. Anycontiguous subset of data within the NDMP data stream may be describedby a “logical offset” and “logical length” that together indicate theposition of the subset within the larger stream (e.g., at an offset fromthe origin or head of the stream).

As the NDMP backup data stream is received, the NDMP mover 170 takesadditional steps to modify the data stream and store the modified datain a manner that permits later retrieval and restoration of a portion ofthe original received NDMP backup data stream. The NDMP mover 170 mayset up a data pipeline from the NDMP mover to the media daemon 172 toconvey the received data stream (or a modified form thereof) to themedia daemon. The NDMP mover and/or the media daemon may performmodifying operations upon the received NDMP data stream (e.g.,encryption, deduplication, compression, indexing, adding metadata). TheNDMP mover may perform modifying operations before sending the modifieddata to the media daemon and/or the media daemon may modify the data itreceives from the NDMP mover. The media daemon writes the modified datato a storage device 115 in chunks. As described in greater detailherein, the media daemon also generates mapping information for eachchunk. The mapping information associates each chunk of modified datastored with (1) a “physical offset” and a “physical length” that reflectwhere the chunk of modified data is physically stored within the storagedevice, and (2) a logical offset and a logical length that areassociated with the contiguous subset of the unmodified NDMP backup datastream that was received by the NDMP mover and subsequently modified tocreate the chunk of modified data. In other words, the mappinginformation correlates the original NDMP offset and length parameterswith new physical locations on the storage device.

While it is packaging data and sending the NDMP backup data streamduring a backup job, the NDMP data server 106 may also locally generateand/or store index information or file history information;alternatively, or additionally, the NDMP data server may embed suchinformation within the NDMP backup data stream (e.g., at the beginningor end of the data stream). The index information or file historyinformation may associate each data object (e.g., file, directory, orsub-file data object) embodied within the data stream with a logicaloffset and logical length of the data object within the original datastream (these values indicate the object's position or location in thestream) and/or provide information about directory structures or otherlogical organizations that may also be defined by logical offset andlogical length descriptors. The NDMP data server may also intermittentlyor periodically provide such index information to the NDMP mover 170;for example, it may send the index information for a batch of objects inthe backup job. The media daemon 172 may store this index information,e.g., in the storage device 115. However, the NDMP data server typicallyprovides its index information post-hoc, after the related portion ofthe data stream has already been received, modified, and/or stored bythe NDMP mover and/or media daemon. Thus, typically, the media daemoncannot use the received index information to generate a mapping of dataobjects to physical offsets in real-time as the modified data is beingwritten to the storage device 115.

Turning now to an NDMP direct access recovery or restore operation, at alater time, the NDMP data server 106 may restore data objects that werebacked up during a backup operation to a target location (e.g., a targetlocation in primary data store 160). As part of the restoration, theNDMP mover may retrieve and echo back stored information about the NDMPbackup operation or job, such as indexing information or file historyinformation that was generated and sent by the NDMP data server 106 atthe time of the backup operation. Using this index information (or otherindex information, e.g., information stored locally by the NDMP dataserver), the NDMP data server may send one or more requests for aportion of a specified NDMP backup stream by providing a desired logicaloffset and a logical length that identify a desired contiguous subset ofthe original, unmodified NDMP backup data stream sent during the backupjob. The NDMP mover 170 may then send the provided logical offset andlogical length to the media daemon, which utilizes the mappinginformation to translate the provided logical offset and logical lengthinto physical offsets and physical lengths that reflect where a modifiedversion of the requested subset of the data stream has been physicallystored in the storage device 115. Using those physical offsets andlengths, the media daemon may retrieve or read the modified data fromthe storage device 115, convert the retrieved modified data back into anNDMP-formatted data stream that contains the backup data associated withthe logical offset and logical length, and send the desired portion ofthe NDMP-formatted data stream back to the NDMP data server, e.g., viathe NDMP mover. More details about NDMP backup and restore operations,including mapping information, are provided herein with respect to FIGS.3, 4, and 5.

Normally, a reversion process that involves reverting data to a previousstate using point-in-time data such as a snapshot is “irreversible”because the reversion process may erase and/or overwrite all or portionsof a table that indicates the current state of data (e.g., an activeblock table or block map) at the moment just before the reversionprocess is initiated and/or may overwrite blocks of data. Thus,effectively, a reversion process irreversibly erases or overwritescurrent data, since that data is no longer accessible to a user. Asdescribed in greater detail herein, the secondary storage computingdevice 165, including its snapshot module 174 and/or interface module176, and/or the snapshot component 108 on a client 130 may permit a userto perform a precautionary snapshot of the current state of data (e.g.,in a primary data store 160) prior to reverting data to a previous stateusing point-in-time data. In this way, the reversion process becomesreversible instead of irreversible, because data that would otherwise beerased or overwritten by a reversion process is captured via a snapshot.

The snapshot component 108 on the client 130 creates snapshots of theclient's data. The snapshot component 108 includes software componentsand may also include hardware and/or firmware components. The snapshotcomponent 108 may be provided in its entirety by a single entity (forexample, a single vendor), or the snapshot component 108 may includesub-components that are provided by different entities (such as multiplevendors). In some examples, the snapshot component includes a MicrosoftVolume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) sub-component and a software-based VSSprovider sub-component that is provided by the assignee of the presentapplication, CommVault Systems, Inc. In these examples, a data agent(not shown) associated with the client interacts with the Microsoft VSSsub-component to create snapshots. In other examples, in addition to oras an alternative to the software-based VSS provider sub-component, thesnapshot component 108 includes other software-based VSS providersub-components, such as a Microsoft system software provider, aMicrosoft Data Protection Manager provider sub-component or a NetAppSnapManager provider sub-component. In other examples, in addition tothe Microsoft VSS sub-component, the snapshot component 108 includes oneor more hardware-based VSS provider sub-components, such as thoseprovided by vendors such as Hewlett-Packard, EMC, NetApp, IBM, and othervendors. Those of skill in the art will understand that the snapshotcomponent 108 may include various software-based and/or hardware-basedsub-components, and may interact with other components in various waysin order to create snapshots of a client's data.

The snapshot component 108 may create snapshots using varioustechniques, such as copy-on-write, redirect-on-write, split mirror,copy-on-write with background copy, log structure file architecturetechniques, continuous data protection techniques, and/or othertechniques. The snapshot component 108 may also perform operationsrelating to reversion operations. The snapshot component 108 may storethe created snapshots on a particular volume of the client 130.

The snapshot module 174 may also copy snapshots from the client 130 toanother storage device, such as the storage device 115, and/or maintainindex information for snapshots. The snapshot module may also utilizesnapshots from a client to create other point-in-time secondary copiesof a client's data. The snapshot module may also be configured toperform functions similar to the snapshot component 108.

The secondary storage computing device 165 also includes the interfacemodule 176. The interface module 176 provides access to the copiedsnapshot data. The interface module 176 can be used to access dataobjects created in other types of secondary copies, such as backupcopies, archive copies, and other types of copies. The interface module176 can also be used to display to a user available snapshots orpoint-in time-copies of the data that can be used for reversion,recovery, or other purposes.

Snapshot operations and reversions from snapshots and other secondarycopies are described in greater detail in commonly assigned applicationsU.S. Provisional Application No. 61/291,805, filed Dec. 31, 2009,entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ANALYZING SNAPSHOTS”, U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/291,803, filed Dec. 31, 2009, entitled “SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR PERFORMING DATA MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS USING SNAPSHOTS”, andU.S. application Ser. No. 12/558,947, filed Sep. 14, 2009, entitled“USING A SNAPSHOT AS A DATA SOURCE,” now U.S. Published Application No.US 20100070726, all of which are hereby incorporated herein in theirentirety.

The above system may be incorporated within a data storage system andmay be subjected to or receive a data stream during a data copyoperation. Referring to FIG. 2, a block diagram illustrating componentsof a data stream 110 utilized by a suitable data storage and recoverysystem is shown. The data stream 110 may include client 130, a secondarystorage computing device 165, and a storage device 115. For example, instorage operations, the system may store, receive, and/or prepare datato be stored, copied, or backed up at a client. The system may thentransfer the data to be stored to the secondary storage computingdevice, which may then refer to storage policies, schedule policies,and/or retention policies (and other policies) in order to choose astorage device. The secondary storage computing device may include or beassociated with an intermediate component, to be discussed herein.

The storage device 115 receives the data from the secondary storagecomputing device 165 and stores the data as a secondary copy, such as abackup copy, archive copy, and/or snapshot copy. Secondary storagedevices may be magnetic tapes, optical disks, USB and other solid-statememory media, disk, and tape drives, and so on.

NDMP Backup Operation

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a process 300 for performing anNDMP backup operation, wherein the NDMP backup data stream is modifiedprior to its storage. The processes shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 may beperformed by components of the secondary storage computing device 165(e.g., NDMP mover 170 and/or media daemon 172), and/or other systems orcomponents.

Before beginning the process 300, a component of the secondary storagecomputing device 165, such as the control module 168, may trigger orinitiate the backup operation or job in accordance with applicablestorage and/or schedule policies, and/or at the request of other systemcomponents (such as a storage manager, discussed herein). For example,the control module may instruct an NDMP data server 106 resident on aclient 130 to initiate an NDMP backup operation upon a subset of theclient's data storage (e.g., a volume, sub-client, and/or file system)in an associated primary data store 160 and to send an NDMP backup datastream to a specified port. As another example, the control module maystart an NDMP mover 170 process for the backup job and direct the NDMPmover to listen for an NDMP backup data stream at a specified portand/or may start a media daemon 172 process for the job. The controlmodule may also take other steps, such as further configuring the NDMPbackup operation (e.g., identifying a storage device 115 to use duringthe operation).

As shown, the process 300 begins at block 305, when the NDMP mover 170receives an unmodified NDMP backup data stream from an NDMP data server106 resident on a client 130, such as in response to an instruction sentto the NDMP data server. For example, the NDMP mover 170 may receive thestream by listening at a specified port.

At block 310, the NDMP mover 170 and/or another component such as themedia daemon 172 modifies the received NDMP backup data stream byvarious modification procedures, such as the modification proceduresdescribed below. The examples of data modification procedures providedbelow are intended to be illustrative, not exhaustive, and any suitabledata modification techniques may be employed at block 310. Furthermore,at block 310, the NDMP mover 170 or other components may perform anycombination of modification procedures, such as those described below,and may perform modification procedures in any order. For example, moredetails regarding how the secondary storage computing device 165 cansimultaneously support encryption, compression, and/or deduplication maybe found in the assignee's U.S. application Ser. No. 12/145,342, filedJun. 24, 2008, entitled “APPLICATION-AWARE AND REMOTE SINGLE INSTANCEDATA MANAGEMENT,” now U.S. Published Application No. US 20090319585. TheNDMP mover 170 may perform some or all of the modification proceduresbefore sending the data to the media daemon 172. Alternatively, oradditionally, the media daemon may receive the NDMP data stream (eitherunmodified or modified) from the NDMP mover and perform modificationprocedures upon the data stream it receives.

As one example, at block 310, the NDMP mover 170 or the media daemon 172may encrypt the received data stream using well-known techniques. Forexample, the system may employ encryption techniques that satisfyFederal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Further details aboutencryption and encrypting copies of data may be found in commonlyassigned U.S. Patent Publication No. US2008-0320319A1, filed on Mar. 31,2008, entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ENCRYPTING SECONDARY COPIES OFDATA. As another example, the NDMP mover may compress the received datastream using well-known techniques. For example, the system may employmany different well-known techniques or applications for compressingdata, including Lempel-Ziv (LZ) techniques, DEFLATE techniques, andLZ-Renau (LZR) techniques. As yet another example, at block 310, theNDMP mover may add additional metadata to the data stream.

As yet another example, at block 310, the NDMP mover 170 or the mediadaemon 172 may perform deduplication upon the received data stream,either before or after encryption and/or compression. Generallyspeaking, deduplication refers to storing a single or reduced number ofinstances of a unique data object or unique data block (or othermultiple-byte or multiple-bit unit of data) in secondary storage. Forexample, the system may store in secondary storage one or moreinstances, but fewer than the total number of instances, of each uniquedata object or unique data block.

Overall, at block 310, the NDMP mover 170 or the media daemon 172 mayperform object-level, sub-object-level, block-level ormulti-byte-/multi-bit-level deduplication procedures and/or encryptionprocedures and/or compression procedures via techniques that create“chunk folders” and similar deduplication data structures.

In examples described in more detail in the assignee's U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/565,576, filed Sep. 23, 2009, entitled “SYSTEMSAND METHODS FOR MANAGING SINGLE INSTANCING DATA,” now U.S. PublishedApplication No. US 20100082672, the NDMP mover 170 or the media daemon172 stores the modified data in a data structure comprising a chunkfolder when performing object- or sub-object-level deduplication.Contained within the chunk folder are three container files: 1) ametadata file; 2) an “N” file; and 3) an “S” file. The three files areeach logical containers of data. The “S” file stores deduplicated data(e.g., deduplicated files). The “N” file stores data that is notdeduplicated (e.g., metadata, such as descriptive metadata associatedwith deduplicated files). The metadata file stores references to thelocation(s) of the data objects in the “S” file and the “N” file. Notethat although three container files are described (S, N, and metadataindex), a chunk folder may comprise more than one “S” file (e.g., S1, S2. . . Sy, where y is an integer) to store deduplicated data and/or morethan one “N” file (e.g., N1, N2 . . . Nz, where z is an integer). Whiledescribed as being stored on the storage device 115, the “N” andmetadata files may alternatively or additionally be stored elsewhere,such as on the secondary storage computing device and/or with a storagemanager, described herein. The chunk folder and the container files maybe equivalent to a directory and files (or folder and files) on a filesystem. For example, the chunk folder may be a directory and thecontainer files may be files located within the directory. As anotherexample, the chunk folder may be a file and the container files may beportions of the file. As another example, the container files may becollections of blocks, bytes, or bits grouped together. Those of skillin the art will understand that the chunk folder and the container filesmay be comprised in various data structures and are not limited to adirectory and files within the directory.

During deduplication, an index file may be created within a datastructure that consists of one or more stream headers and stream data.The stream header describes a data object contained in an “N” file or an“S” file (e.g., its location, its size, an offset within the file,etc.). The stream data contains the pointer to the data object containedin the “N” file or the “S” file. For example, the pointer may give itslocation within the “N” file or the “S” file. The location of the dataobject may be given by offsets within the “N” file or the “S” file. Forexample, its location may be given by a starting offset, and its lengthor size. As another example, its location may be given by a startingoffset and an ending offset. As previously mentioned, the data objectmay be in an “S” file in another chunk folder, and the stream data wouldpoint to this “S” file in the other chunk folder (e.g., give itslocation in the “S” file in the other chunk folder). Each time the NDMPmover 170 or media daemon 172 places a data object in the “S” file, itmay add a stream header and corresponding stream data to the index file.

In examples where block-level deduplication is performed at block 310,the data structures used to store modified data may include one or morevolume folders, one or more chunk folders within a volume folder, andmultiple files within a chunk folder. Each chunk folder includes ametadata file, a metadata index file, one or more container files, and acontainer index file. The metadata file stores non-deduplicated datablocks as well as links to deduplicated data blocks stored in containerfiles. The metadata index file stores an index to the data in themetadata file. The container files store deduplicated data blocks. Thecontainer index file stores an index to the container files. Among otherthings, the container index file stores an indication of whether acorresponding block in a container file is referred to by a link in ametadata file. Those of skill in the art will understand that the volumefolder and its constituent folders and files may be comprised in variousdata structures and are not limited to a directory and files within thedirectory; instead, e.g., they may be collections of blocks, bytes, orbits grouped together.

In some examples, chunk folders, volume folders, and/or theirconstituent files are stored in an archive file format. The archive filemay be stored on various storage devices 115, such as on disk drives oron magnetic tapes, and may contain chunk folders and/or volume folders.The archive file may include, for example, a “chunk folder 0” located atoffset 0, a “chunk folder 1” located at offset 5, a “chunk folder 2”located at offset 10, a “chunk folder 3” located at offset 15, and so onuntil a “chunk folder n” located at offset 65. The offsets may beexpressed in relation to the start of the archive file. More detailsregarding a suitable archive file format may be found in the assignee'sU.S. application Ser. No. 11/950,376, filed Dec. 4, 2007, entitled“SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CREATING COPIES OF DATA, SUCH AS ARCHIVECOPIES,” now U.S. Published Application US 20080229037, the entirety ofwhich is incorporated by reference herein. An archive file may beconsidered as a container of data objects.

At block 310, modification procedures may be performed separately upondifferent subsets of the NDMP backup data stream. For example theprocedures may be performed separately upon different subsets of theNDMP backup data stream that are associated with different “chunks,” asdescribed in greater detail herein. For example, the NDMP mover 170 mayperform a modification procedure or procedures (e.g., compression orencryption) upon the first 3 GB of an NDMP data stream as a subset, andthen perform the same modification procedure upon the next 3 GB of anNDMP data stream as a subset.

Generally speaking, the modification operations performed at block 310will create an unknown and unpredictable change in the volume of datathat is needed to store the modified form of the received NDMP backupdata stream. For example, if the received unmodified NDMP data stream is1 GB, the volume of data needed to store the modified version of theNDMP data stream may be 1 GB, 0.75 GB, 0.2 GB, or any other value. Thedegree of change will depend on the contents of the data stream, theconfiguration settings, and the types and/or order of the modificationoperations that are performed at block 310. For example, deduplicationwill change (e.g., reduce) the volume of data that is stored during abackup or other storage operation; however, the amount of change is afunction of the amount of redundancy that is present in a primary dataset. As an example, if a received data set of 1 GB has 50% redundancy(e.g., each unique block appears twice), block-level deduplication mayreduce the amount of data that is stored by approximately 50%. Asanother example, the level of compression achieved by a compressionprocedure may depend on the particular compression technique utilized.As yet another example, the addition of metadata prior to storage mayincrease the volume of the data that is stored. Furthermore, themodification procedures may create uneven volume changes through theentire NDMP data stream. For example, a deduplication procedure mightreduce the first half of an NDMP data stream by a factor of two, butmight reduce the second half of the NDMP data stream by a factor ofthree. Since the modification procedures change the volume of data in anunpredictable and/or uneven fashion, the logical offsets associated withthe received original NDMP data stream may have no closed-form orpredictable relationship to the offsets of a post-modification NDMP datastream or image.

At block 315, the NDMP mover 170 or media daemon 172 writes the modifieddata in “chunks” to the storage device 115. For example, the mediadaemon may write chunks of modified data to tape media. Each chunkwritten is a modified version of a contiguous subset of the receivedNDMP backup data stream that is associated with a certain logical offsetand logical length.

In some examples, each “chunk” written at block 315 is a separate “chunkfolder” and/or “volume folder” such as those deduplication datastructures described previously. Alternatively, a “chunk” may be asub-division of one of these deduplication data structures (e.g., alogical sub-division, a constituent file or folder, or an arbitrarysub-division (e.g., each chunk folder may be divided into approximately0.5 GB chunks), a modified version of one of these deduplication datastructures (e.g., a compressed version of a chunk folder), or a group ofmultiple deduplication data structures. In other examples, a “chunk” maysimply refer to a subset of the modified data which is addressable(i.e., readable) by a media location, a physical offset, and a physicallength (or a physical starting offset and physical ending offset). Thelength of each such chunk may be configurable. For example, atapproximately every 1 GB “checkpoint” along the modified data stream,the media daemon 172 may simply define a new chunk.

In some examples, for each chunk, the media daemon 172 writesapproximately 2 GB of modified data to the storage device 115. However,any chunk size may be used, and chunk size may be configurable, e.g., totune the performance of restore operations. A storage policy may specifychunk size. Furthermore, during a single backup operation, chunk sizemay vary from one chunk to the next. Chunk size is typically expressedin terms of the amount of modified data that is written per chunk;however, the size of a chunk may instead be specified by or based on theamount of unmodified data that is associated with a given chunk and/orother characteristics of the unmodified data that is used to create achunk. For example, each chunk may be chosen to correspond toapproximately 5 GB of unmodified data, resulting in unevenly sizedchunks being written during an operation. When chunks are stored inphysical media, the series of chunks may or may not be storedsequentially or contiguously. Chunks also may or may not be demarcatedor separated by separators such as file marks or separate file marks.

As described previously, the modifying operations performed at block 310may destroy any relationship between the logical offset used by the NDMPdata server 106 to identify a subset of the original NDMP data streamand the offsets of a post-modification NDMP data stream or image.Accordingly, at block 320, the NDMP mover 170 or media daemon 172associates each chunk written with (1) the logical offset and logicallength of the contiguous subset of the received original NDMP datastream that is now represented in modified form by the stored chunk, and(2) the physical offset and physical length indicative of where thechunk is stored within the storage device 115 (and possibly a physicalmedia identifier that indicates the physical media on which the chunk isstored, such as a particular tape cassette). For example, at block 320,the NDMP mover or media daemon 172 may populate a table, such as the oneshown in FIG. 4.

At a later time, the modified data that is written at block 315 may bemoved from one physical location to a different physical location duringa subsequent storage operation. For example, during a scheduled archivestorage operation, some portion of the modified data written at block315 may be copied or transferred to a new archive file on a new tape.Thus, at decision block 325, the NDMP mover or media daemon 172determines whether one or more chunks of data that were written at block315 are being moved to a changed physical location during a storageoperation. If not, then the process 300 returns. Otherwise, if one ormore chunks are being moved, then at block 330 the NDMP mover or mediadaemon updates the physical offsets, physical lengths, and/or physicalmedia identifiers to indicate the new physical storage locations ofthose chunks. The process 300 then returns.

FIG. 4 shows an example chunk mapping table 400 that shows how asecondary storage computing device 165 may provide a mapping betweenphysical and logical locations of modified NDMP backup data. Each row425, 430, and 435 corresponds to a different chunk that has been writtento a storage device 115 during an NDMP backup operation or job. Thechunk mapping table may comprise one or more columns, including:

(1) a job identifier (ID) column 402 indicative of the NDMP backupoperation or job during which the chunk was written,

(2) a chunk ID column 405 indicative of a unique chunk identifier withinan NDMP backup job,

(3) a logical offset and length column 410 indicative of the portion ofthe unmodified NDMP backup data stream that was received during a backupjob, and that is now represented in a modified form by the physicalchunk;

(4) a physical media ID column 415 indicative of the media upon whichthe chunk is stored (e.g., a tape ID number), and

(5) a physical offset and length column 420 indicative of a portion ofthe indicated physical media (e.g., tape) on which the chunk isphysically stored.

The logical offset and length in the table are typically the same as thelogical offset and length that the NDMP data server 106 would associatewith the same subset of the unmodified NDMP backup data stream. Forexample, row 425 conveys mapping information for the first modified datachunk that was written as part of NDMP backup job number “A5629.” Thischunk corresponds to a modified version of the subset of the unmodifiedNDMP backup data stream for the job that is identified by the logicaloffset LO1 and the logical length LL1. As shown in row 430, the chunk ofmodified data was written to physical media in the storage device 115(e.g., tape) identified as “Media A,” with a physical offset PO1 andphysical length PL1. Of course, the secondary storage computing device165 may store such mapping information in any other suitable format(e.g., a relational database), and/or some of the mapping informationshown in Table 4 may be stored in other components within a storagesystem (e.g., such as in a storage manager described herein).

NDMP Restore Operation

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a process 500 for restoringoriginal NDMP backup data that was modified prior to storage. Prior tothe beginning of the process, the NDMP data server 106 may determine alogical offset and logical length that it wishes to request from theNDMP mover 170 by using index information or file history informationthat relates backed up data objects to their logical offset and logicallength within an NDMP backup data stream and/or provides informationabout directory structures or similar organizational information, etc.In some examples, the NDMP data server consults an index comprising thisinformation that is stored at the NDMP data server to determine thelogical offset and logical length needed to restore a data object orobjects. In other examples, the NDMP data server may request that thecontrol module provide such index information that was sent to thecontrol module and stored during a particular job, and the NDMP movermay provide the requested index information to the NDMP data server. TheNDMP data server may then use the provided index information todetermine the logical offset and logical length needed to restore a dataobject or set of data objects. As yet another example, the NDMP dataserver may request the first N bytes (e.g., at logical offset zero) ofthe NDMP backup data stream for the job (or another portion of the NDMPdata stream) if the NDMP data server embedded indexing informationdirectly into the NDMP data stream. The NDMP data server may then parseout the embedded indexing information to determine the logical offsetand logical length needed to restore specific data objects.

The process begins at block 505, when the NDMP mover 170 receives arequest (e.g., a read request) to send a subset of an unmodified NDMPbackup data stream associated with a particular backup operation or job.In order to identify the specific subset needed, the request may specifyfor example, a backup job identifier and/or a logical offset and logicallength. The logical offset requested (“LOR”) at block 505 may correspondto or fall at the beginning, end, or middle of a data chunk that wascreated and stored during the backup operation. Furthermore the logicaloffset may correspond to or fall within the first, last, or anintermediate data chunk created during the specified job. Similarly, thespecified logical offset and the logical length requested (“LLR”) mayspan more than one data chunk from the specified job.

At block 510, the NDMP mover 170 or media daemon 172 looks up the firstchunk that is needed to satisfy the read request using the logicaloffset and logical length and any job identifier. To do so, the NDMPmover may use a job identifier and the logical offset and logical lengthas a lookup into a chunk mapping table or database, such as the exampletable shown in FIG. 4, to determine the chunk identifier associated withthe chunk that spans the first part of the subset of the NDMP backupdata stream that was requested. In the example shown in FIG. 4, if theNDMP mover receives a request to access the NDMP backup streamassociated with job A5629 at a logical offset LOR that falls between LO2and LO3, the NDMP mover may determine that the beginning of the desiredsubset of the data stream is stored somewhere in the chunk having thechunk ID 2, which is described by row 430 in the table 400.

At block 515, the NDMP mover 170 or media daemon 172 uses the chunkidentifier determined at block 510 to look up the physical mediaidentifier, physical offset, and physical length necessary to access thefirst needed chunk. To do so, the NDMP mover may use the chunkidentifier as a lookup into a chunk mapping table or database, such asthe example table shown in FIG. 4, to determine the physical mediaidentifier, physical offset, and physical length associated with thefirst needed chunk. Continuing the previous example of Table 4, if theNDMP mover receives a request to access a logical offset LOR that fallsbetween LO2 and LO3, the NDMP mover may access row 430 to determine thata modified form of the requested data is stored in the chunk stored onmedia associated with the identifier “Media B” at physical offset PO2and physical length PL2.

At block 520, the NDMP mover 170 or media daemon 172 uses the retrievedmedia identifier, physical offset, and physical length retrieved atblock 515 in order to read the chunk of modified data. In the previousexample, the NDMP mover or media daemon may access a tape B and beginreading at physical offset PO2 until it has read data corresponding tophysical length PL2.

At block 525, the NDMP mover 170 and/or media daemon 172 converts thechunk of modified data that is read at block 520 back into an unmodifiedNDMP data stream format by undoing or reversing each of the modifyingprocedures that was performed upon the original NDMP data stream. Forexample, the NDMP mover or media daemon may decompress compressed data,decrypt encrypted data, “rehydrate” deduplicated data by restoringmultiple instances of data objects to the data stream, and/or removemetadata that was added during the backup operation. Various methods forreversing these modifying procedures are well-known in the art and/orare described in the commonly-assigned applications related tomodification techniques that are incorporated by reference herein.

At block 530, the NDMP mover 170 or media daemon 172 scans the convertedversion of the chunk until it arrives at the logical offset needed tosatisfy the data request. In the previous example, if the receivedrequested logical offset LOR is equal to LO2+217, the NDMP mover mayscan the converted version of chunk 2 until it reaches position 217within the converted chunk. The NDMP mover may discard the precedingportion of the converted version of the chunk or cache it for later use(e.g., in local memory in order to respond quickly to anticipated readrequests).

At block 535, the NDMP mover 170 uses the converted chunk to return anunmodified NDMP data stream starting at the requested logical offset,e.g., by sending it to a requesting NDMP data server 106. In theprevious example, if the received requested logical offset LOR is equalto LO2+217, the NDMP mover may send a copy of the converted chunkstarting at position 217. The NDMP mover will continue to send theunmodified NDMP data stream until the read request has been satisfied(i.e., the logical length requested has been reached) and/or the end ofthe converted chunk is reached.

Of course, blocks 520-535 may be performed in parallel to the extentthat the modified data can be read, converted, scanned, and sent in aparallel manner. For example, the NDMP mover 170 and/or media daemon 172may be reading the end of a stored chunk at the same time that it isconverting a middle portion of the same chunk and sending the convertedversion of the first part of the same chunk. Similarly, the data that isbeing read, converted, scanned, and/or returned, may be buffered in anymanner at any of blocks 520-535.

At decision block 540, the NDMP mover 170 or media daemon 172 determineswhether it is necessary to read, convert, scan, and return a portion ofanother data chunk. For example, the NDMP mover may determine that therequested logical offset and logical length implicates more than onedata block, because the requested subset of the NDMP data stream spansmore than one chunk. If the NDMP mover determines that it needs to readanother data chunk to satisfy the read request, the process may berepeated beginning at block 510, this time using an adjusted logicaloffset and logical length that reflect how a portion of the last chunkwas read, converted, and sent to partially satisfy the read request.

Of course, different iterations of blocks 520-535 may be performed inparallel. For example, the NDMP mover 170 and/or media daemon 172 may bereading the beginning of a third physical chunk at the same time that itis converting a middle portion of a second physical chunk and sendingthe converted version of a first physical chunk.

In some examples, the NDMP mover 170 anticipates future read requests bybuffering unmodified NDMP backup data that is obtained by reading andconverting stored chunks. For example, at block 535, once the entiresubset of the requested NDMP backup data stream corresponding to therequested logical offset LOR and logical length LLR has been sent, theNDMP mover may continue to buffer the contents of the converted chunkuntil it reaches the end of the converted chunk (or another point in theconverted chunk). As another example, even if the read request does notrequire that the NDMP mover repeat steps 510-535 for another chunk(e.g., because the read request has been fully satisfied), the NDMPmover, at the conclusion of block 535, may look up the chunk thatcorresponds to the next or otherwise adjacent section of the NDMP backupdata stream for the same job and perform blocks 515-535. While doing so,it may buffer the NDMP data generated at block 535. By doing so, theNDMP mover may be able to satisfy subsequent read requests more quickly,since often a series of read requests related to a restore operationimplicate several subsets of a backup data stream that are near to oneanother.

Although the description of NDMP operations herein have primarilyreferred to sets of data as being associated with or addressable by anoffset (e.g., either a physical offset or logical offset) and length(e.g., either a physical length or logical length), one having skill inthe art will appreciate that this is equivalent to associating oraddressing a subset of data by a starting offset and an ending offset,since these two quantities together inherently indicate a length.

Reversion Operation

FIG. 6 shows a process 600 for reverting data, such as primary datastored in a primary data store 160, to a previous state, wherein thereversion process is reversible. The process may be performed by thesecondary storage computing device 165 or components thereof (such asthe snapshot module 174 and/or interface module 176), other components(such as a snapshot component 108 on a client 130), and/or othersystems.

As shown, the process begins at block 605, when the secondary storagecomputing device 165 receives a request to revert data to its earlierstate at a previous time using previously obtained point-in-time data,such as an earlier snapshot copy or backup copy. For example, a user mayutilize a graphical user interface, (e.g., provided by the interfacemodule 176) to browse previous snapshots of client data. Those snapshotsand other secondary copies available to the user may be stored in aprimary data store 160 and/or may be stored in snapshot format oranother secondary format in a secondary storage device, such as storagedevice 115. The user may indicate that he wishes to revert to all of thedata captured by a particular snapshot or secondary copy or only aparticular subset of the data captured by a particular snapshot orsecondary copy (e.g., a particular logical unit, disk volume, fileserver volume, file, email object, etc.).

At block 610, the secondary storage computing device 165 presents theuser with the option to take a snapshot of the current state of datathat will be partially or wholly overwritten or erased as a result ofthe requested reversion process, e.g., a snapshot of a logical unit ofdata that will be partially or wholly overwritten. For example, usingthe interface module 176, the secondary storage computing device maypresent the user with an interface such as the example interface 700shown in FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 7, the interface may include a warningmessage 705 that indicates that the requested reversion operation mayerase or overwrite data (and may indicate what data will beerased/overwritten). The interface may provide a message 710 asking theuser whether he wants to take a snapshot of the current state of thedata that will be overwritten or erased and provides the user with inputmeans 715, 720 such as check boxes, drop-down menus, “right-click” orsimilar interactive menus, or similar means to indicate whether acurrent snapshot should be taken before the requested reversionoperation. The interface may also include a message and input means 725for the user to select other options related to reversion operations,such as the option of always taking a current snapshot before reverting.

Referring again to FIG. 6, at decision block 615, the secondary storagecomputing device determines whether the user has requested that acurrent snapshot be taken. If yes, the process 600 proceeds to block620; otherwise, the process proceeds to block 625. At block 620, thesecondary storage computing device 165 takes (or requests the taking of)a snapshot of the current state of the data that will be erased oroverwritten by the reversion operation (and possibly additional primarydata; e.g., during a granular reversion operation, other data in thesame logical unit as the data that will be overwritten/erased will alsobe captured by the precautionary snapshot). For example, the secondarystorage computing device may instruct the snapshot module 174 on thesecondary storage computing device 165 and/or the snapshot component 108on a client 130 to initiate a snapshot, e.g., of a logical unit that isbeing reverted. Prior to taking a snapshot of the current state of thedata that will be erased or overwritten by the reversion operation (ordata in a related logical unit), the data may be put into a consistentstate and brought offline (i.e., so that it is unavailable formodifications).

At block 625, the secondary storage computing device 165 reverts therequested data using the point-in-time data (e.g., the snapshot or othersecondary copy) indicated at block 605 using procedures such as thosedescribed previously and/or other techniques known in the art. Forexample, the secondary storage computing device may instruct thesnapshot module 174 on the secondary storage computing device 165 and/orthe snapshot component 108 on a client 130 to initiate a reversionoperation, e.g., of a logical unit that is being reverted. After thereversion, the requested data may be brought back online.

Although not shown in FIG. 6, after the conclusion of the process 600, auser may “undo” the reversion process. For example, a user may utilize agraphical user interface, (e.g., provided by the interface module 176)to indicate that he wishes to undo the reversion operation. As anotherexample, the user may browse previous snapshots and other point-in-timecopies of a client's data, including the precautionary snapshot taken inconjunction with a reversion operation during the process 600. The usermay then indicate that he wishes to revert using the precautionarysnapshot. In either example, the secondary storage computing device 165may revert the data a second time using the precautionary snapshot (oralternatively, the secondary storage computing device may perform theprocess 600 again, this time using the precautionary snapshot as therequested reversion point).

Suitable System

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of one arrangement of resources in acomputing network, comprising a data storage system 250. The resourcesin the data storage system 250 may employ the processes and techniquesdescribed herein. The system 250 includes a storage manager 205, one ormore data agents 295, one or more secondary storage computing devices265, one or more storage devices 215, one or more computing devices 230(called clients 230), one or more data or information stores 260 and262, a single instancing database 223, an index 211, a jobs agent 220,an interface agent 225, and a management agent 231. The system 250 mayrepresent a modular storage system such as the CommVault QiNetix system,and also the CommVault GALAXY backup system, available from CommVaultSystems, Inc. of Oceanport, N.J., aspects of which are further describedin the commonly-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/610,738,now U.S. Pat. No. 7,035,880, the entirety of which is incorporated byreference herein. The system 250 may also represent a modular storagesystem such as the CommVault Simpana system, also available fromCommVault Systems, Inc.

The system 250 may generally include combinations of hardware andsoftware components associated with performing storage operations onelectronic data. Storage operations include copying, backing up,creating, storing, retrieving, and/or migrating primary storage data(e.g., data stores 260 and/or 262) and secondary storage data (which mayinclude, for example, snapshot copies, backup copies, hierarchicalstorage management (HSM) copies, archive copies, and other types ofcopies of electronic data stored on storage devices 215). The system 250may provide one or more integrated management consoles for users orsystem processes to interface with in order to perform certain storageoperations on electronic data as further described herein. Suchintegrated management consoles may be displayed at a central controlfacility or several similar consoles distributed throughout multiplenetwork locations to provide global or geographically specific networkdata storage information.

In one example, storage operations may be performed according to variousstorage preferences, for example, as expressed by a user preference, astorage policy, a schedule policy, and/or a retention policy. A “storagepolicy” is generally a data structure or other information source thatincludes a set of preferences and other storage criteria associated withperforming a storage operation. The preferences and storage criteria mayinclude, but are not limited to, a storage location, relationshipsbetween system components, network pathways to utilize in a storageoperation, data characteristics, compression or encryption requirements,preferred system components to utilize in a storage operation, a singleinstancing or variable instancing (or deduplication) policy to apply tothe data, and/or other criteria relating to a storage operation. Forexample, a storage policy may indicate that certain data is to be storedin the storage device 215, retained for a specified period of timebefore being aged to another tier of secondary storage, copied to thestorage device 215 using a specified number of data streams, etc.

A “schedule policy” may specify a frequency with which to performstorage operations and a window of time within which to perform them.For example, a schedule policy may specify that a storage operation isto be performed every Saturday morning from 2:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. Insome cases, the storage policy includes information generally specifiedby the schedule policy. (Put another way, the storage policy includesthe schedule policy.) A “retention policy” may specify how long data isto be retained at specific tiers of storage or what criteria must be metbefore data may be pruned or moved from one tier of storage to anothertier of storage. Storage policies, schedule policies and/or retentionpolicies may be stored in a database of the storage manager 205, toarchive media as metadata for use in restore operations or other storageoperations, or to other locations or components of the system 250.

The system 250 may comprise a storage operation cell that is one ofmultiple storage operation cells arranged in a hierarchy or otherorganization. Storage operation cells may be related to backup cells andprovide some or all of the functionality of backup cells as described inthe assignee's U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/354,058, now U.S.Pat. No. 7,395,282, which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. However, storage operation cells may also perform additionaltypes of storage operations and other types of storage managementfunctions that are not generally offered by backup cells.

Storage operation cells may contain not only physical devices, but alsomay represent logical concepts, organizations, and hierarchies. Forexample, a first storage operation cell may be configured to perform afirst type of storage operations such as HSM operations, which mayinclude backup or other types of data migration, and may include avariety of physical components including a storage manager 205 (ormanagement agent 231), a secondary storage computing device 265, aclient 230, and other components as described herein. A second storageoperation cell may contain the same or similar physical components;however, it may be configured to perform a second type of storageoperation, such as storage resource management (SRM) operations, and mayinclude monitoring a primary data copy or performing other known SRMoperations.

Thus, as can be seen from the above, although the first and secondstorage operation cells are logically distinct entities configured toperform different management functions (i.e., HSM and SRM,respectively), each storage operation cell may contain the same orsimilar physical devices. Alternatively, different storage operationcells may contain some of the same physical devices and not others. Forexample, a storage operation cell configured to perform SRM tasks maycontain a secondary storage computing device 265, client 230, or othernetwork device connected to a primary storage volume, while a storageoperation cell configured to perform HSM tasks may instead include asecondary storage computing device 265, client 230, or other networkdevice connected to a secondary storage volume and not contain theelements or components associated with and including the primary storagevolume. (The term “connected” as used herein does not necessarilyrequire a physical connection; rather, it could refer to two devicesthat are operably coupled to each other, communicably coupled to eachother, in communication with each other, or more generally, refer to thecapability of two devices to communicate with each other.) These twostorage operation cells, however, may each include a different storagemanager 205 that coordinates storage operations via the same secondarystorage computing devices 265 and storage devices 215. This“overlapping” configuration allows storage resources to be accessed bymore than one storage manager 205, such that multiple paths exist toeach storage device 215 facilitating failover, load balancing, andpromoting robust data access via alternative routes.

Alternatively or additionally, the same storage manager 205 may controltwo or more storage operation cells (whether or not each storageoperation cell has its own dedicated storage manager 205). Moreover, incertain embodiments, the extent or type of overlap may be user-defined(through a control console) or may be automatically configured tooptimize data storage and/or retrieval.

Data agent 295 may be a software module or part of a software modulethat is generally responsible for performing storage operations on thedata of the client 230 stored in data store 260/262 or other memorylocation. Each client 230 may have at least one data agent 295 and thesystem 250 can support multiple clients 230. Data agent 295 may bedistributed between client 230 and storage manager 205 (and any otherintermediate components), or it may be deployed from a remote locationor its functions approximated by a remote process that performs some orall of the functions of data agent 295.

The overall system 250 may employ multiple data agents 295, each ofwhich may perform storage operations on data associated with a differentapplication. For example, different individual data agents 295 may bedesigned to handle Microsoft Exchange data, Lotus Notes data, MicrosoftWindows 2000 file system data, Microsoft Active Directory Objects data,and other types of data known in the art. Other embodiments may employone or more generic data agents 295 that can handle and process multipledata types rather than using the specialized data agents describedabove.

If a client 230 has two or more types of data, one data agent 295 may berequired for each data type to perform storage operations on the data ofthe client 230. For example, to back up, migrate, and restore all thedata on a Microsoft Exchange 2000 server, the client 230 may use oneMicrosoft Exchange 2000 Mailbox data agent 295 to back up the Exchange2000 mailboxes, one Microsoft Exchange 2000 Database data agent 295 toback up the Exchange 2000 databases, one Microsoft Exchange 2000 PublicFolder data agent 295 to back up the Exchange 2000 Public Folders, andone Microsoft Windows 2000 File System data agent 295 to back up thefile system of the client 230. These data agents 295 would be treated asfour separate data agents 295 by the system even though they reside onthe same client 230.

Alternatively, the overall system 250 may use one or more generic dataagents 295, each of which may be capable of handling two or more datatypes. For example, one generic data agent 295 may be used to back up,migrate and restore Microsoft Exchange 2000 Mailbox data and MicrosoftExchange 2000 Database data while another generic data agent 295 mayhandle Microsoft Exchange 2000 Public Folder data and Microsoft Windows2000 File System data, etc.

Data agents 295 may be responsible for arranging or packing data to becopied or migrated into a certain format such as an archive file.Nonetheless, it will be understood that this represents only oneexample, and any suitable packing or containerization technique ortransfer methodology may be used if desired. Such an archive file mayinclude metadata, a list of files or data objects copied, the file, anddata objects themselves. Moreover, any data moved by the data agents maybe tracked within the system by updating indexes associated withappropriate storage managers 205 or secondary storage computing devices265. As used herein, a file or a data object refers to any collection orgrouping of bytes of data that can be viewed as one or more logicalunits.

Generally speaking, storage manager 205 may be a software module orother application that coordinates and controls storage operationsperformed by the system 250. Storage manager 205 may communicate withsome or all elements of the system 250, including clients 230, dataagents 295, secondary storage computing devices 265, and storage devices215, to initiate and manage storage operations (e.g., backups,migrations, data recovery operations, etc.).

Storage manager 205 may include a jobs agent 220 that monitors thestatus of some or all storage operations previously performed, currentlybeing performed, or scheduled to be performed by the system 250. (One ormore storage operations are alternatively referred to herein as a “job”or “jobs.”) Jobs agent 220 may be communicatively coupled to aninterface agent 225 (e.g., a software module or application). Interfaceagent 225 may include information processing and display software, suchas a graphical user interface (“GUI”), an application programminginterface (“API”), or other interactive interface through which usersand system processes can retrieve information about the status ofstorage operations. For example, in an arrangement of multiple storageoperations cells, through interface agent 225, users may optionallyissue instructions to various storage operation cells regardingperformance of the storage operations as described and contemplatedherein. For example, a user may modify a schedule concerning the numberof pending snapshot copies or other types of copies scheduled as neededto suit particular needs or requirements. As another example, a user mayemploy the GUI to view the status of pending storage operations in someor all of the storage operation cells in a given network or to monitorthe status of certain components in a particular storage operation cell(e.g., the amount of storage capacity left in a particular storagedevice 215).

Storage manager 205 may also include a management agent 231 that istypically implemented as a software module or application program. Ingeneral, management agent 231 provides an interface that allows variousmanagement agents 231 in other storage operation cells to communicatewith one another. For example, assume a certain network configurationincludes multiple storage operation cells hierarchically arranged orotherwise logically related in a WAN or LAN configuration. With thisarrangement, each storage operation cell may be connected to the otherthrough each respective interface agent 225. This allows each storageoperation cell to send and receive certain pertinent information fromother storage operation cells, including status information, routinginformation, information regarding capacity and utilization, etc. Thesecommunications paths may also be used to convey information andinstructions regarding storage operations.

For example, a management agent 231 in a first storage operation cellmay communicate with a management agent 231 in a second storageoperation cell regarding the status of storage operations in the secondstorage operation cell. Another illustrative example includes the casewhere a management agent 231 in a first storage operation cellcommunicates with a management agent 231 in a second storage operationcell to control storage manager 205 (and other components) of the secondstorage operation cell via management agent 231 contained in storagemanager 205.

Another illustrative example is the case where management agent 231 in afirst storage operation cell communicates directly with and controls thecomponents in a second storage operation cell and bypasses the storagemanager 205 in the second storage operation cell. If desired, storageoperation cells can also be organized hierarchically such thathierarchically superior cells control or pass information tohierarchically subordinate cells or vice versa.

Storage manager 205 may also maintain an index, a database, or otherdata structure 211. The data stored in database 211 may be used toindicate logical associations between components of the system, userpreferences, management tasks, media containerization and data storageinformation or other useful data. For example, the storage manager 205may use data from database 211 to track logical associations betweensecondary storage computing device 265 and storage devices 215 (ormovement of data as containerized from primary to secondary storage).

Generally speaking, the secondary storage computing device 265, whichmay also be referred to as a media agent, may be implemented as asoftware module that conveys data, as directed by storage manager 205,between a client 230 and one or more storage devices 215 such as a tapelibrary, a magnetic media storage device, an optical media storagedevice, or any other suitable storage device. In one embodiment,secondary storage computing device 265 may be communicatively coupled toand control a storage device 215. A secondary storage computing device265 may be considered to be associated with a particular storage device215 if that secondary storage computing device 265 is capable of routingand storing data to that particular storage device 215.

In operation, a secondary storage computing device 265 associated with aparticular storage device 215 may instruct the storage device to use arobotic arm or other retrieval means to load or eject a certain storagemedia, and to subsequently archive, migrate, or restore data to or fromthat media. Secondary storage computing device 265 may communicate witha storage device 215 via a suitable communications path such as a SCSIor Fibre Channel communications link. In some embodiments, the storagedevice 215 may be communicatively coupled to the storage manager 205 viaa SAN.

Each secondary storage computing device 265 may maintain an index, adatabase, or other data structure 261 that may store index datagenerated during storage operations for secondary storage (SS) asdescribed herein, including creating a metabase (MB). For example,performing storage operations on Microsoft Exchange data may generateindex data. Such index data provides a secondary storage computingdevice 265 or other external device with a fast and efficient mechanismfor locating data stored or backed up. Thus, a secondary storagecomputing device index 261, or a database 211 of a storage manager 205,may store data associating a client 230 with a particular secondarystorage computing device 265 or storage device 215, for example, asspecified in a storage policy, while a database or other data structurein secondary storage computing device 265 may indicate wherespecifically the data of the client 230 is stored in storage device 215,what specific files were stored, and other information associated withstorage of the data of the client 230. In some embodiments, such indexdata may be stored along with the data backed up in a storage device215, with an additional copy of the index data written to index cache ina secondary storage device. Thus the data is readily available for usein storage operations and other activities without having to be firstretrieved from the storage device 215.

Generally speaking, information stored in cache is typically recentinformation that reflects certain particulars about operations that haverecently occurred. After a certain period of time, this information issent to secondary storage and tracked. This information may need to beretrieved and uploaded back into a cache or other memory in a secondarycomputing device before data can be retrieved from storage device 215.In some embodiments, the cached information may include informationregarding format or containerization of archives or other files storedon storage device 215.

One or more of the secondary storage computing devices 265 may alsomaintain one or more single instance databases 223. Single instancing, amethod of deduplication, generally refers to storing in secondarystorage only a single instance of each data object (or data block) in aset of data (e.g., primary data). More details as to single instancingmay be found in one or more of the following commonly-assigned U.S.patent applications: 1) U.S. application Ser. No. 11/269,512, filed Nov.7, 2004, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD TO SUPPORT SINGLE INSTANCE STORAGEOPERATIONS,” now U.S. Published Application No. US 20060224846; 2) U.S.application Ser. No. 12/145,347, filed Jun. 24, 2007, entitled“APPLICATION-AWARE AND REMOTE SINGLE INSTANCE DATA MANAGEMENT,” now U.S.Published Application No. US 20090319534; 3) U.S. application Ser. No.12/145,342, filed Jun. 24, 2008, entitled “APPLICATION-AWARE AND REMOTESINGLE INSTANCE DATA MANAGEMENT,” now U.S. Published Application No. US20090319585, 4) U.S. application Ser. No. 11/963,623, filed Dec. 21,2007, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR STORING REDUNDANT INFORMATION,”now U.S. Published Application No. US 20080243879; and 5) U.S.application Ser. No. 11/950,376, filed Dec. 4, 2007, entitled “SYSTEMSAND METHODS FOR CREATING COPIES OF DATA SUCH AS ARCHIVE COPIES,” nowU.S. Published Application No. US 20080229037, each of which isincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

In some examples, the secondary storage computing devices 265 maintainone or more variable instance databases. Variable instancing, a methodof deduplication, generally refers to storing in secondary storage oneor more instances, but fewer than the total number of instances, of eachdata block (or data object) in a set of data (e.g., primary data). Moredetails as to variable instancing may be found in the commonly-assignedU.S. Provisional Application No. 61/164,803, filed Mar. 30, 2009,entitled “STORING A VARIABLE NUMBER OF INSTANCES OF DATA OBJECTS”.

In some embodiments, certain components may reside and execute on thesame computer. For example, in some embodiments, a client 230 such as adata agent 295, or a storage manager 205, coordinates and directs localarchiving, migration, and retrieval application functions as furtherdescribed in the previously-referenced U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/610,738. This client 230 can function independently or together withother similar clients 230.

As shown in FIG. 8, each secondary storage computing device 265 has itsown associated metabase or index 261. Each client 230 may also have itsown associated metabase 270. However in some embodiments, each “tier” ofstorage, such as primary storage, secondary storage, tertiary storage,etc., may have multiple metabases or a centralized metabase, asdescribed herein. For example, rather than a separate metabase or indexassociated with each client 230 in FIG. 8, the metabases on this storagetier may be centralized. Similarly, second and other tiers of storagemay have either centralized or distributed metabases. Moreover, mixedarchitecture systems may be used if desired, that may include a firsttier centralized metabase system coupled to a second tier storage systemhaving distributed metabases and vice versa, etc.

Moreover, in operation, a storage manager 205 or other management modulemay keep track of certain information that allows the storage manager205 to select, designate, or otherwise identify metabases to be searchedin response to certain queries as further described herein. Movement ofdata between primary and secondary storage may also involve movement ofassociated metadata and other tracking information as further describedherein.

In some examples, primary data may be organized into one or moresub-clients. A sub-client is a portion of the data of one or moreclients 230, and can contain either all of the data of the clients 230or a designated subset thereof. As depicted in FIG. 8, the data store262 includes two sub-clients. For example, an administrator (or otheruser with the appropriate permissions; the term administrator is usedherein for brevity) may find it preferable to separate email data fromfinancial data using two different sub-clients having different storagepreferences, retention criteria, etc.

CONCLUSION

Systems and modules described herein may comprise software, firmware,hardware, or any combination(s) of software, firmware, or hardwaresuitable for the purposes described herein. Software and other modulesmay reside on servers, workstations, personal computers, computerizedtablets, PDAs, and other devices suitable for the purposes describedherein. Modules described herein may be executed by a general-purposecomputer, e.g., a server computer, wireless device, or personalcomputer. Those skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that aspectsof the invention can be practiced with other communications, dataprocessing, or computer system configurations, including: Internetappliances, hand-held devices (including personal digital assistants(PDAs)), wearable computers, all manner of cellular or mobile phones,multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics, set-top boxes, network PCs, mini-computers, mainframecomputers, and the like. Indeed, the terms “computer,” “server,” “host,”“host system,” and the like, are generally used interchangeably hereinand refer to any of the above devices and systems, as well as any dataprocessor. Furthermore, aspects of the invention can be embodied in aspecial purpose computer or data processor that is specificallyprogrammed, configured, or constructed to perform one or more of thecomputer-executable instructions explained in detail herein.

Software and other modules may be accessible via local memory, anetwork, a browser, or other application in an ASP context, or viaanother means suitable for the purposes described herein. Examples ofthe technology can also be practiced in distributed computingenvironments where tasks or modules are performed by remote processingdevices, which are linked through a communications network, such as aLocal Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), or the Internet. In adistributed computing environment, program modules may be located inboth local and remote memory storage devices. Data structures describedherein may comprise computer files, variables, programming arrays,programming structures, or any electronic information storage schemes ormethods, or any combinations thereof, suitable for the purposesdescribed herein. User interface elements described herein may compriseelements from graphical user interfaces, command line interfaces, andother interfaces suitable for the purposes described herein.

Examples of the technology may be stored or distributed oncomputer-readable media, including magnetically or optically readablecomputer disks, hard-wired or preprogrammed chips (e.g., EEPROMsemiconductor chips), nanotechnology memory, biological memory, or otherdata storage media. Indeed, computer-implemented instructions, datastructures, screen displays, and other data under aspects of theinvention may be distributed over the Internet or over other networks(including wireless networks), on a propagated signal on a propagationmedium (e.g., an electromagnetic wave(s), a sound wave, etc.) over aperiod of time, or they may be provided on any analog or digital network(packet switched, circuit switched, or other scheme).

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and thelike are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to anexclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of“including, but not limited to.” As used herein, the terms “connected,”“coupled,” or any variant thereof, means any connection or coupling,either direct or indirect, between two or more elements; the coupling orconnection between the elements can be physical, logical, or acombination thereof. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,”and words of similar import, when used in this application, refer tothis application as a whole and not to any particular portions of thisapplication. Where the context permits, words in the above DetailedDescription using the singular or plural number may also include theplural or singular number respectively. The word “or,” in reference to alist of two or more items, covers all of the following interpretationsof the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list,and any combination of the items in the list.

The above Detailed Description is not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the invention to the precise form disclosed above. While specificexamples for the invention are described above for illustrativepurposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scopeof the invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize.For example, while processes or blocks are presented in a given order,alternative implementations may perform routines having steps, or employsystems having blocks, in a different order, and some processes orblocks may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/ormodified to provide alternative or subcombinations. Each of theseprocesses or blocks may be implemented in a variety of different ways.Also, while processes or blocks are at times shown as being performed inseries, these processes or blocks may instead be performed orimplemented in parallel, or may be performed at different times. Furtherany specific numbers noted herein are only examples: alternativeimplementations may employ differing values or ranges.

The teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied to othersystems, not necessarily the system described above. The elements andacts of the various examples described above can be combined to providefurther implementations of the invention.

Any patents and applications and other references noted above, includingany that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporatedherein by reference. Aspects of the invention can be modified, ifnecessary, to employ the systems, functions, and concepts of the variousreferences described above to provide yet further implementations of theinvention.

These and other changes can be made to the invention in light of theabove Detailed Description. While the above description describescertain examples of the invention and describes the best modecontemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, theinvention can be practiced in many ways. Details of the system may varyconsiderably in its specific implementation, while still beingencompassed by the invention disclosed herein. As noted above,particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspectsof the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology isbeing redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics,features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology isassociated. In general, the terms used in the following claims shouldnot be construed to limit the invention to the specific examplesdisclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Descriptionsection explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope ofthe invention encompasses not only the disclosed examples, but also allequivalent ways of practicing or implementing the invention under theclaims.

While certain aspects of the invention are presented below in certainclaim forms, the applicant contemplates the various aspects of theinvention in any number of claim forms. Accordingly, the applicantreserves the right to add additional claims after filing the applicationto pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects of theinvention. For example, while only one aspect of the invention isrecited as a means-plus-function claim under 35 U.S.C sec. 112, sixthparagraph, other aspects may likewise be embodied as ameans-plus-function claim, or in other forms, such as being embodied ina computer-readable medium. (Any claims intended to be treated under 35U.S.C. § 112, will begin with the words “means for”, but use of the term“for” in any other context is not intended to invoke treatment under 35U.S.C. § 112, ¶6.

We claim:
 1. At least one non-transitory, computer-readable medium,carrying instructions, which when executed by at least one dataprocessor, performs a plurality of operations, the plurality ofoperations comprising: receiving a first request to revert data to anearlier state using a previously obtained point-in-time data copy,wherein the data is stored in a data storage device; presenting, inresponse to the received first request to revert the data to an earlierstate, an interface for managing a current state of the data, whereinthe interface comprises: a first user-selectable option to create apoint-in-time data copy of the current state of the data before the datais reverted to the earlier state, and a second user-selectable optionthat causes the at least one data processor to automatically create apoint-in-time data copy of a current state of the data at a time asubsequent request is received, wherein the subsequent request is torevert the data to another earlier state, and prior to reverting thedata to the another earlier state using corresponding point-in-timedata; determining whether a second request has been received via thefirst user-selectable option to create the point-in-time data copy ofthe current state of the data; determining whether the firstuser-selectable option and the second user-selectable option areselected; creating the point-in-time data copy of the current state ofthe data in response to the received second request; based on adetermination that the first user-selectable option and the seconduser-selectable option are selected, configuring the at least one dataprocessor to automatically create the point-in-time data copy of thecurrent state of the data at the time the subsequent request is receivedand prior to reverting the data to the another earlier state usingcorresponding point-in-time data; and, after creating the point-in-timedata copy of the current state of the data, reverting the data to theearlier state using the previously obtained point-in-time data.
 2. Theat least one non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 1,wherein the interface includes at least one of the following: adrop-down menu, a check box, or any combination thereof.
 3. The at leastone non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein theplurality of operations further comprises: presenting a status ofpending storage operations in a data storage system coupled to the datastorage device.
 4. The at least one non-transitory, computer-readablemedium of claim 1, wherein the presenting includes providing to a user agraphical user interface (GUI).
 5. The at least one non-transitory,computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the current point-in-timedata copy is at least partially based on primary data.
 6. The at leastone non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein thecurrent point-in-time data copy is generated using at least one of thefollowing techniques: copy-on-write, redirect-on-write, split mirror,copy-on-write with background copy, or any combination thereof.
 7. Theat least one non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 1,wherein the plurality of operations further comprises: receiving arequest for an unmodified version of Network Data Management Protocol(“NDMP”) data that was modified before being stored in the data storagedevice, wherein the request includes a logical offset and a logicallength; and, returning the requested unmodified version of NDMP datausing the received logical offset and logical length.
 8. At least onenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium whose contents cause atleast one data processor to perform a plurality of operations, theplurality of operations comprising: receiving a first user request torevert a set of data to a previous state, wherein the set of data isstored in a data storage device; in response to the first user request,automatically providing a user interface display that presents: a firstoption to perform a precautionary snapshot of a current state of the setof data; and, a second option that causes the at least one dataprocessor to automatically create a precautionary snapshot of a currentstate of a set of data at a time a subsequent user request is received,wherein the subsequent user request is to revert the set of data toanother previous state, and prior to reverting the set of data to theanother previous state; receiving a second user request, via a selectionof the first option of the user interface display, to perform theprecautionary snapshot; determining whether the first option and thesecond option are both selected; based on a determination that the firstoption and the second option are both selected, configuring the at leastone data processor to automatically create the precautionary snapshot ofthe current state of the set of data at the time the subsequent userrequest is received and prior to reverting the set of data to theanother previous state; causing the precautionary snapshot of thecurrent state of the set of data to be created based on the receivedselection of the first option; and, causing the set of data to bereverted to a previous state using point-in-time data after causing theprecautionary snapshot to be created.
 9. The at least onenon-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein theplurality of operations further comprises: prior to performing theprecautionary snapshot, taking data for the precautionary snapshotoffline.
 10. The at least one non-transitory, computer-readable storagemedium of claim 8, wherein the plurality of operations furthercomprises: receiving a request to browse previous snapshots and theprecautionary snapshot; in response to the request, presenting agraphical user interface (GUI) that includes the previous snapshots andthe precautionary snapshot.
 11. The at least one non-transitory,computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein causing theprecautionary snapshot of the current state of the set of data to becreated further comprises taking a snapshot of the set of data in aprimary storage location.
 12. The at least one non-transitory,computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the precautionarysnapshot is of at least one of the following: a file system, an Exchangeserver, or an SQL database.
 13. The at least one non-transitory,computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the precautionarysnapshot is configured to be used for reversible reversion.
 14. The atleast one non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 8,wherein the plurality of operations further comprises: receiving arequest for an unmodified version of Network Data Management Protocol(“NDMP”) data that was modified before being stored in the data storagedevice, wherein the request includes a logical offset and a logicallength; and, returning the requested unmodified version of NDMP datausing the received logical offset and logical length.
 15. A methodcomprising: receiving a first request to revert a set of data to anearlier state using the point-in-time data; in response to the request,automatically providing a user interface display that presents: a firstoption to create the precautionary snapshot; and, a second option thatcauses the at least one data processor to automatically create aprecautionary snapshot of a current state of a set of data at a time asubsequent user request is received, wherein the subsequent user requestis to revert the set of data to another previous state, and prior toreverting the set of data to the another previous state; receiving asecond request, via a selection of the first option of the userinterface display, to create a precautionary snapshot of a current stateof a set of data to be created; determining whether the first option andthe second option are both selected; based on a determination that thefirst option and the second option are both selected, configuring the atleast one data processor to automatically create the precautionarysnapshot of the current state of the set of data at the time thesubsequent user request is received and prior to reverting the set ofdata to the another previous state; causing a precautionary snapshot ofa current state of a set of data to be created based on the selection ofthe first option; and causing the set of data to be reverted to anearlier state using point-in-time data after causing the precautionarysnapshot to be created.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein causing theset of data to be reverted further comprises: accessing previouslyobtained point-in-time data stored in a chunk as a modified version ofNetwork Data Management Protocol (“NDMP”) data; and using the chunk torevert the data.
 17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:receiving a request for an unmodified version of Network Data ManagementProtocol (“NDMP”) data that was modified before being stored, whereinthe request includes a logical offset and a logical length; and,returning the requested unmodified version of NDMP data using thereceived logical offset and logical length.
 18. The method claim 15,wherein the point-in-time data is created using at least one of thefollowing techniques: copy-on-write, redirect-on-write, split mirror,copy-on-write with background copy, or any combination thereof.